N.C. senator commends University’s cyber security efforts at annual symposium

Speaking to a crowd of more than 500 students, faculty and business people, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) praised UNC Charlotte for providing the educational programs and research to advance cyber protection and combat cyber terrorism.

The senator said cyber terrorism is one of the primary threats to national security, and he noted that the “number one (cyber) security concern” are everyday ploys by cyber terrorists that trick people into opening bogus emails that allow access to confidential information.

“Academia is absolutely the way forward” in training the next generation of cyber security professionals and teaming with government and private industry on research, Burr stated. His remarks were delivered as one of the keynote speakers for the College of Computing and Informatics’ 16th annual Cyber Security Symposium Wednesday, Oct. 14.

As chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Burr is cosponsor of the Cyber Security Information Sharing Act of 2015, which was recently passed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The bill creates additional incentives to increase sharing of cyber security threat information while protecting individual privacy and civil liberties interests. The bill also offers liability protection to the private sector, thus enhancing its ability to combat cyber attackers.

In addition to hosting the one-day symposium, the College of Computing and Informatics is offering a dedicated executive education program related to cyber security on Thursday, Oct. 15.